Han language
– ~3,000,000 | familycolor = Austronesian | fam1 = | fam2 = | fam3 = | fam4 = | fam5 = Nuclear Han | sign = Signed Han | script = Hanji (main) (secondary) | nation = Great Han Empire Sierra | region = Han archipelago; Guam; North Mariana islands; Palau; Micronesia | minority = | iso1 = hn | iso2 = | minority = | iso3 = | lingua = | map = | mapcaption = | agency = }} The Han language ( :「韩语言」, Hanyouyan) is the of Hani. Han is the foremost member of the Greater Han languages, a small part of the , placed under the branch of . The official global regulatory body of the Han language is the , which governs the proper usage of the Han language. Characteristics of Han include morphology with to change or create new vocabulary (most of which are mostly ), the use of , and . The earliest form of Han, Classical Han, derives from , which itself is descended from . Classical Han evolved in the mid-17th century, and was characterized by the change in and lexicon. Since then, Classical Han branched into three languages, with the precursor of current Han being characterized by a four-pitch system. The Han language is written in Hanji, a semi- that are based off (mostly ). , a logographic script, is used often to convey nouns; often written with kagi characters. Phonology Han has a total of 41 ; 20 (eight and twelve ) and 21 . (/ː/) are indicated by , while (/ʔ/) are indicated by ・, but this is often left out in contemporary Han orthography for the sake of simplicity. Vowels Consonants Pitch-accent system Han uses solely for purposes, and a change in would not change the literal meaning of the word. Rather, it conveys the emotional state of the speaker, or the relation of the speaker to the audience. Han has four tones; falling, rising, neutral, and high. The first two do not account in the height of the drop. In Hanji, there are notations for tones but they are rarely used outside of formal writing. The rising and falling tones are noted by either upward or downward strokes, respectively. The high tone is written with a character resembling a tilted right angle. These characters are placed before the inflected syllabic block. Vowel harmony Han practices , grouping vowels into three groups; "rounded" vowels (/o/, /u/, /ə/, /ɰ/), "unrounded" vowels, and the sole neutral vowel (/i/). However, this has been a rather late development, only evolving in the late 18th century and has only cemented into the language under its standardization in the late 19th century. However, some dialects had disregarded large or even all parts of the system. Grammar In Han, there are six basic parts of speech; verbs, particles (most of which are postpositional), nouns, pronouns, modifiers, and interjections. It has a basic and is considered a . However, as a , the often being placed towards the beginning of a clause may give an impression of a . Verbs Han is an language, but has four voices instead of the basic dual distinction. Typical of an , it does not use inflection often but instead holds heavy affixation (mainly in the form of suffixes). Furthermore, the language contains very little verb irregularity. Since most words can be reduced to an enclitic form using the retracted genitive marker, ''-n'', Han has some tendencies. Verb conjugations can convey; , , , or a combination of the four. Focus In a verb focusing on a subject/agent, the ''-ya'' is used while ''-shi'' for names, whilst the object is preceded by the genitive marker no. When focusing on an object, the agent is marked by ''-yu'' or if it is a name, ''-ni''. The object is inflected with the affix ''-ya'' or ''-shi'' for names. If a sentence has an object focus, yet not explicit object, this means the object is inferred and is already known. Nouns Nouns are by the enclitic particles that mark for case. Apart from the enclitics listed below, -''an'' denotes a collective or an abstract noun, whilst -''man'' indicates . However, this is often left out when the context makes it redundant. Personal pronouns Personal are categorised into three cases; the , the , and the . Personal pronouns can also be classified based on viewpoint. is not regarded as its own distinct case. However, the dative form of a pronoun coupled with the personal genitive marker ni (contrasting with its common form no) indicates it. As pronouns are not inflected based on , pronouns are gender-neutral and may be used to refer to both a male or a female. Demonstrative pronouns Demonstrative pronouns are categorized into four cases, with the genitive case functioning similarly to the possessive case of personal pronouns. Interrogative pronouns Modifiers Particles The Han language utilises enclitic particles having important information that convey different nuances in meaning. Below is a list of Han enclitic particles; # wa: topic particle # o'': subject particle # ''ga: object particle # nal: conjoins adjective and noun # na and ha ## na: now, already ## ha: still, else, in addition, yet # kaji: even, even if, even though # hiro: although # ni and nani: marks personal names that are not the focus of the sentence; indicates possession. # shi and shina: marks and introduces personal names # kan: indeed; used in affirmations or emphasis. Also softens imperatives # rin: too, also # bwa: limiting particle; only or just # dao: a reporting particle that expresses that the information in the sentence is second-hand; they say, he said, reportedly, supposedly, etc. # ho and po; shows politeness # bwa: used in yes-and-no questions and optionally in other types of questions, # mina: for now, for a minute and yet (in negative sentences). # niman: used in making contrasts; softens requests; emphasis # gase: expresses cause; because # gaya: expresses wonder; I wonder; perhaps (we should do something) (also optionally used in yes-and-no questions and other forms of questions) # lana: expresses that the speaker has realised or suddenly remembered something; realization particle # yata: expresses uncertainty; probably, perhaps, seems # doriyo: used in cause and effect; as a result # sana: expresses hope, unrealised condition (with verb in completed aspect), used in conditional sentences. # baka: expresses the potential of an action to occur # dwei: used to indicate duty, correctness, or obligation Negation There are three normal negation words, and two special negation words for common Han verbs; Honorifics The Han language has a mild level of stratification, with the relationship of the speaker or a writer to his or her audience being noted. Honorific verbs Honorific nouns Honorific titles Footnotes Category:Great Han Empire